


Black Tears don't Hide in Rain

by lietpol



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Carlos Whump, Carlos de Vil-centric, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Carlos, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kidnapping, M/M, Physical Abuse, Pre-Relationship, Protective Jay, Torture, Whump, angry jay, carlos needs a hug, kind of, typical evil guy is typical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 16:43:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5135048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lietpol/pseuds/lietpol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't every day Carlos found himself waking up in agonizing pain.<br/>Or<br/>The Carlos whump fic nobody asked for<br/>Or<br/>I was feeling angsty and wanted to see my fav get beat up</p>
            </blockquote>





	Black Tears don't Hide in Rain

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted something dark and I'm at a freezing point for Whenever You Call, so here's this. Sorry for any errors, completely unbeta'd and written at 2 AM. Kudos and comments always appreciated. Love you guys, and THANK you for reading <33

It wasn't every day Carlos found himself waking up in agonizing pain. That was a once a week kind of thing, twice if Cruella was really feeling good. 

But this. This was different. 

He could feel that his hands were bound uncomfortably, suspended above him. Judging by the stiffness and inability to move without feeling like he was in the next level of hell, he had been here for a while. It would really help if he remembered how he got here. He didn't  _think_  he had any enemies willing to string him up and leave him here. He wanted to call out and see if there would be an answer, but something told him not to. So, he remained silent, eyes staring blindly into the surrounding darkness. 

They could have used a lamp or something, not like it's the medieval times or anything. Well, this was the isle. Who knew what kind of creep dragged him here?

His toes skimmed along a cold surface as he wriggled around, biting his lip so to not make any noise. Whoever tied his wrists was a pro. He couldn't manage any leeway from the ropes, but he did feel them bite into his skin. He couldn't help the small hiss that escaped from him as his skin twisted and rubbed. That was going to be one hell of a rope burn. 

His captor must have heard them, because a bright light flickered on, momentarily blinding Carlos. As his eyes adjusted he saw-

_Himself?_

A mirror sat in front of him, mocking him. He could see his bleeding arms and the purple discoloration above his left temple. So that's how he ended up here. He didn't even remember being hit. His shoulders seemed at an odd angle, and Carlos figured they must have popped out of place. There was dirt caked into his hair and it was bunched up in one general direction. He guessed whoever did this dragged him along by his hair. Which was rude. So far, he couldn't find any major injuries, and he was thankful for that. 

"It wouldn't hurt to have these ropes a  _little_  looser." 

No response. 

He huffed and tried to adjust his position, which only caused him to move his shoulders. His scream echoed on the walls. Apparently that made someone laugh. It sent a shiver down Carlos's spine. The laughter faded as quickly as it came, and he couldn't identify who it was. 

Carlos decided he was going to skip the greetings and go straight to the point, not really expecting answers. "Why am I here?"

Silence.

"What do you want? I probably don't have it, so you could just let me go."

Laughter.

At least the person had a sense of humor.

His mind was going a million miles a minute when a voice finally interrupted his thoughts.

"You see, we originally just wanted to beat someone up, you know. Release the anger. But then, we found out who your mother was, and that made this  _so much better_." Carlos didn't have to see the person to know they were smiling. "Your mother is quite the figure here on the isle. She's no Maleficent, but she's pretty warped in her own sense. We know how she is with her  _possessions_ , so why not take her own personal slave? Obviously, she won't really care what happens to you, but we figured she'd still be mad to know someone took something of hers." The figure was masked, covered in black. 

Sadly, that was all correct. Carlos could die here, and his mother would be more concerned about the upkeep of their house. This really sucked. He finally had some friends, well 'rivals.' Friends weren't allowed on the isle. Thinking about them made him feel even worse. They were probably all hanging out right now, not concerned with Carlos. Usually, one could assume Cruella was making him work more than usual. Nobody would suspect that he had been taken. There was no real tracking system for missing people, but Cruella probably wouldn't report him anyway. 

"Well, you can't do much that my mother hasn't already done." He hoped that was true, anyway, but who knew?

"Hmm, don't be so sure, De Vil. You don't know who we are, and we plan to keep it that way. Let us commence now, this should be exciting."

He was going to ask what was exciting, but he didn't have time to. The punch that landed square to the right side of his jaw sent his brain spinning. He could taste the blood and he really hoped his teeth were okay. There was a quick inhale of breath, which he realized was his, as he spit out the pooling red liquid. 

"So, let me get this straight. You're only doing this because you're mad and you, unfortunately, have some kind of grudge against my mother?" Why did he always have to take all the painful stuff for her? She really wasn't worth it. 

"Exactly, you're a smart one." Something cold and sharp stroked down his bare chest and he shivered, hissing when what he assumed was a blade pierced into the soft flesh of his stomach. 

"You'll be beautiful when we tear you to pieces." There was so much unconstrained excitement and wonder in their voice that Carlos couldn't help but feel sorry for them. What had made them so demented? He wished there was a way to signal his friends, but he was not so lucky. "You're a sick person."

There was no noise for a moment, just the feeling of the blade sliding across his chest and the slick feeling of blood seeping from the wounds. "Yes. I dare say it is a family trait. There is something so- what's the word- _breathtaking_  in watching a person suffer. It's like nothing you've ever experienced before." 

There was a rough jerk on the ropes and Carlos was like paper caught in a whirlwind. He spun uncontrollably as punches and kicks were thrown in his direction. His vision blurred in and out, unable to keep up with what was happening. A hand reached out and stilled him before grabbing his hair and jerking his chin upward. Hot breath tickled his ear. "The best part? We know what your mother does to you. We know that you have a higher pain tolerance than most. So we can push you, and you'll push in return. There are so many things we could do to you. I'm positively ecstatic." 

Carlos shuddered as his mind caught up to him. He glared at the figure, yanking hard enough that the hand released his hair. It hurt, but not as bad as the rest of his body.  _"Freak."_

_"Oh, you have no idea."_

A sharp crack filled the air before Carlos realized what was happening. He felt more than saw the electricity as it thrummed through him. His teeth were chattering at the force and his vision exploded in white as his breath became more of a pant. " _Jesus Christ!_ "

"Sorry, it's just me. Shocking methods have always been a favorite of mine. Really  _sparks_ a mood, don't you think?"

Carlos couldn't really bring himself to talk after that, his brain was too muddled to make sense of what he was trying to say. So he sat there in silence, the occasional scream ripping from his raw throat as a new method was used. The worst so far had definitely been the burning. He wasn't sure if he would be able to remove the stench of burning flesh from his nostrils. It was worse when he realized that it was his skin. A look in the mirror showed that his torso was bruised and bloody, his bare thighs singed black in various areas and his arms a mess of sliced skin. At least he wasn't naked. Not that the small shorts really did anything to help this situation. 

For being subjected to fire and electricity, he was  _freezing_. Must have been from the loss of blood. That would also explain the dizzying sensation he was feeling as he tried to pry his eyes open. His captor teased him viciously with a wickedly sharp blade. It slid against the sweat slicked skin of his back, eliciting a shudder as it slid onto his neck. He could feel the trail of blood and pain it left behind. 

"Isn't this the part where you tell me how your friends are coming for you? How they're going to save you? Because you're like  _family?"_ the person, Carlos assumed it was probably a guy, drawled out. It sounded as if he were _purring_. He definitely was enjoying this too much. Carlos had begun to call him the Shredder, for lack of a better name. And he was a nerd for Ninja Turtles, but that was besides the point. 

Somehow, he managed to successfully form coherent sentences. "Th- that's not how it works on the Isle." As much as it pained him to admit this, he felt the truth sting in his words. "Friends don't help each other out. I'm supposed to get myself out of this mess, or just die. Which doesn't seem so bad at this point." 

"Well, as it turns out, dear Carlos, I have a surprise for you."

"Oh boy, I'm so excited," he said dryly, "what could it possibly be?" 

Shredder twisted him until he faced himself in the mirror, then he finally noticed it. Shredder picked up on this, speaking in the thick silence. "The mirror is actually a door. Can you guess what is behind it? Let me shed some light on the situation."

It was a two-way mirror, and what was behind it chilled Carlos to the bones. 

Three pairs of wide eyes stared back at him with mixed emotions: anger, worry, confusion. 

Evie was a mess. Her mascara was running down her face, leaving clumpy black streaks twisting her soft features into hard ones. She stared up at Carlos, the tears shining in her eyes. Carlos could tell she was worried for him, which was weird for a villain.  He tried to smile at her, but his lip split and she flinched as the blood rolled down his chin. 

Mal wasn't much better off. She glared at their captor, her piercing green eyes trying to burn holes into his mask. In the back of his mind, Carlos thought that he was glad that he wasn't in there with them. He didn't want to be anywhere near Mal when she was clearly plotting a gruesome murder. 

Worst of all was Jay. It wouldn't have even been obvious that he was fuming with rage had it not been for the murderous intent in his eyes. His face was a mask of coolness and definitely one hell of a poker face. But his eyes were trained on Carlos, looking over his body. Carlos wanted nothing more to assure his friends that he was okay, but that would be a lie. He wasn't okay. This was so much worse than anything he'd faced with his mother, and the pain was starting to wear him down. His eyelids were heavy and he could barely keep his head lifted anymore. 

"How does it feel to know that your friends have witnessed everything so far? Every cry for help, every agonizing scream?" 

Carlos was certain that, if there was anything in his stomach, he would have thrown it up by now. He was shivering and wanted nothing more than to just grab his friends and leave. "How did you even get them in here?" 

"Well, you see, we assumed that maybe the other Big Three kids would like to enjoy the show. We didn't count on the fact that you would all be _friends_." He spat out in a disgusted tone. "But this just gets better and better. They can hear everything you say, see everything you do, but you cannot hear them, or help them in any way. Nor can they help you. It's very satisfying." 

Shredder turned to face Carlos again, the mask shifted and Carlos guessed he was grinning. Which worried him a little. "While this has been all kinds of entertaining, I'm afraid the time has come that we must depart, dear Carlos. But I'll leave you with a little  _gift._ " He grabbed onto Carlos's waist and spun him around, his back facing the mirror, and his friends. Carlos pulled against the taut rope nervously, unsure of what was about to happen. He could hear banging coming from the door, and he turned his head to glance out of the corner of his eye. Jay was beating on the door as hard as he could, Evie and Mal watching him apprehensively. The snarl on his face was enough to make anyone freeze, but Shredder obviously didn't care about that. Carlos turned his head back around, his neck not liking the strenuous angle. Whatever his gift was, he hoped it would be fairly quick. 

Of course, it wasn't.

He heard Shredder's gasps of surprise and excitement before he actually felt the pain. It finally set in, and he would have writhed and fought against it, but the hand on his waist kept him in place as the jagged edge of the blade cut into the skin of his upper back. He was carving something, and Carlos couldn't tell what it was. The screams that came from him made everything else hard to focus on, his own voice ringing in his ears. He bit back the next one, trying to remain somewhat strong for his friends. His back was on fire. It felt like white hot flames followed the path of the blade as Shredder curved and twisted in areas. Carlos fought the urge to pass out, forcing his head upward as he waited for the torment to end. 

It finally did. Shredder dropped his hand and took a step back to admire his work. Carlos could feel the blood flowing freely down his back as he craned his neck to see what had been done. The urge to vomit was strong as he examine the angry red marks that read:

LONG LIVE EVIL

"Thank you, dear Carlos. This was quite fun. Tell your mother to pay her dues in time, please." 

And with that, the lights died for a moment, only to come back on quickly. Shredder was nowhere to be seen. The rope holding him up had been cut and he fell to his knees painfully, unable to catch himself as his head connected with the cold ground. Behind him, a lock clicked and a door swung open followed by hurried footsteps and worried voices. 

"This is a mess, what are we going to do?" Evie sounded worried, maybe even a little scared.

"I say we find that punk and give him a piece of our minds!" Carlos would have snorted at Jay's hot-heady response, but he was too busy trying to stay awake. 

Mal's voice was the voice of reason, surprisingly. "Maybe later, but right now we need to make sure Carlos is going to be okay. He definitely can't go to his own house right now."

He wanted to say something, anything really. Yet no words would come out. All he could do was stare blankly at the floor until he was rolled over onto his side by Jay. "Listen, buddy, we're gonna get you outta here soon. Do you think you can stay awake until then?" Carlos nodded, then scrunched his face up in pain. Laying on his burned thigh really hurt. Laying on anything really hurt, right now. Jay was hovering over Carlos like an angered mother. That mental image caused Carlos to let out a dry laugh, and his friends eyed him warily. 

"Maybe he's going into hysteria." Mal stated. 

"Nah" was all he managed to rasp out. There was a rustling noise, and then a cloth being thrown over him as he was lifted off of the floor by Jay. He was thankful that his friend seemed to be avoiding his back as much as possible. Evie gripped the hand that wasn't clinging to Jay's neck. 

Jay was sure Carlos couldn't tell how much he was shaking. The small boy in his arms was practically vibrating. He pulled him into his chest more, relying on his usual warmth to help. Carlos seemed to relax a little as his head lolled near Jay's neck, his breath ghosting over the sensitive skin. The overwhelming urge to keep Carlos forever and protect him from everything surprised Jay. He didn't really understand it, Carlos could usually protect himself. When he looked to his friends, he noticed Mal smirking in her devious way, and Evie grinning next to him. Unsure of what that meant, he marched on, looking for the exit. 

It turned out to be a small wedge in the wall. Mal and Evie had to work together to move it because Jay refused to let go of Carlos. He would occasionally look down to make sure the boy had not drifted out of consciousness, jostling him gently to alert him. Carlos was wrecked. He didn't even seem to be aware of what was happening right now, only managing to mumble incoherent words as his eyes wondered aimlessly above him. Jay hated the way the bruises and cuts stuck out on his skin. Every patch of red and purple just fueled the anger boiling inside of him.

When the sunlight hit their eyes, they ducked into a corner, deciding on where they should go. Since Evie's place was big and easy to sneak in and out of, they went there. By the time the group arrived, Carlos seemed to be more aware of his surroundings. And his pain. Jay was not expecting him to jolt up and scream at the top of his lungs. A hand flew up and covered his mouth, and Mal apologized, but reminded them that they really did not need to run into anybody right now. 

He eased up the stairway with practiced quietness, and let out a sigh of relief as they reached Evie's bedroom. She directed Jay towards the bed where he gingerly placed Carlos onto it. The boy groaned, his eyes rolling back into his head. It was scary to see someone he cared about in so much pain, and Jay felt helpless.

"If only we could use magic. Damn barrier!" Mal kicked a chair in the corner of the room. Evie's facial expression softened as she hugged her friend. "It's okay, I'm going to go get the medical kit we keep. He'll be fine." 

Jay didn't understand how she could be so sure. The boy beside him was clearly in agonizing pain, and there was really nothing anybody could do about it. 

Evie returned with a small box and set it out on the surface of the bed. She carefully removed the cloth covering Carlos and hissed at the gruesome sight. "I think we should clean the cuts first, and then assess the burns. It's going to hurt. You may need to hold him down." She leaned in towards Carlos and placed a kiss on his cheek. "C, can you hear me? We're going to take care of you, okay?"

Carlos managed to nod, smiling at her. That didn't last long as she began to clean the wounds, taking care of the deep lacerations on his back first. Jay didn't like listening to him gasp and groan at every swipe of alcohol. The grip Carlos had on Jay's hand was bone crushing. He glanced at Mal, who was watching them from afar, her face contorted in deep thought. Jay's grip on the cold, clammy hand was the only thing keeping him from busting through the doors and finding the asshole that did this. But he knew it was more important to be here for Carlos right now. So he waited patiently as Evie attended every single scratch and bruise on his body. 

It seemed like forever, but she declared that she was finished, and suggest that Carlos rest and drink lots of water. She held Jay responsible for the water. So he kept watch by the bed, occasionally lifting the glass to Carlos's lips. It was easy doing this, taking care of him. Jay thought that he kind of liked it. But there was one other thing that had been bothering them. When he was sure Carlos was fully aware and alert, he turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder gently. 

"Carlos."

The brown eyed boy looked at his friend expectantly, uncertainty lingering in his eyes. 

"What you said in there, about friends not helping each other out. That's not true. We'll always help each other out. We make a good team. Just because the stupid Isle rules forbid that, doesn't mean we should listen. Besides, rules are made for breaking."

The small ghost of a grin on Carlos's lips was definitely worth the emotional words. Jay was glad that he could be the reason behind the smile. It felt uplifting, and he couldn't explain why, even to himself. He slowly slid himself down until he was laying next to Carlos, hands behind his head. It was nice to just lay there and not worry about things. Eventually, he heard the small breaths even out into long sighs, telling him Carlos was completely out. He turned and looked at the bruises littering his face and body. In that moment, he vowed to never let anything like this happen again. 

"I'll always have your back" he mumbled. 


End file.
